"The following international aid agencies are working with partner agencies and local religious leaders in Haiti and are accepting donations for victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake.

"Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency, is accepting donations by phone at 1-800-736-3467; online at www.crs.org; or by mail to CRS, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090.

"The Salesians are accepting donations by phone at 1-914-633-8344; online at www.salesianmissions.org; or by mail to Salesian Disaster Relief, Salesian Missions, P.O. Box 30, New Rochelle, NY 10802-0030.

"The Archdiocese of Miami, which has a large Haitian population, has set up a place to donate via its Web site, http://www.newmiamiarch.org.

"Caritas Internationalis is accepting donations for Haiti at www.caritas.org.

A tip of the hat to ZephyrK9, on Twitter, for the heads-up on one of the CNS articles.There's a link list of Catholic aid agencies at the end of this post.

The rest is mostly excerpts from this morning's news.

Bottom line? Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, is a mess. Judging from the lack of news about places in Haiti outside the capital, the rest of the country isn't in much better shape - otherwise reporters would have contacted people living there, I'd think.

This is strictly a suggestion, but the situation in Haiti is an opportunity to pray for folks who are really hurting. If you're in a position to give financial or other assistance - well, there's that link list. And the last news piece I quoted from has additional contact information for Catholic Relief Services.

"Pope Benedict XVI prayed for victims of a massive earthquake in Haiti and urged the international community to provide generous assistance to the stricken population of the Caribbean nation.

"The victims included Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince.

" 'The lifeless body of Archbishop Joseph Miot of Port-au-Prince was found this morning under the rubble of the archbishops' residence,' L'Osservatore Romano said in a Page 1 story Jan. 13.

"Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio in Haiti, told the Vatican missionary news agency Fides: 'Port-au-Prince is completely devastated. The cathedral and the archbishop's residence, all the big churches, all the seminaries are reduced to rubble.'..."

The article quotes Pope Benedict XVI:

"...'I appeal to the generosity of everyone, so that our brothers and sisters receive our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international community in this moment of need and suffering,' he said.

"He said the Catholic Church's charity organizations would immediately move into action to assist those most in need.

" 'I invite everyone to join in my prayer to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who are mourning their loss. I assure my spiritual closeness to people who have lost their homes and to all those affected in various ways by this calamity, imploring from God consolation and relief of their suffering,'...."(Catholic News Service)

After yesterday afternoon's 7.0 quake, Haiti's capital is in bad shape. Virtually no news from places outside the capital concerns me. I suspect that Haiti's communications systems are down: and that reporters can't contact people outside the capital city. From what I've read about Haiti, many places wouldn't take tremors like this well.

Archbishop Auza told Catholic News Agency that he and others couldn't go into buildings for very long, because of aftershocks, so they're camping out in a garden.

More from Catholic News Agency:

"...Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization for Catholic charities, said it was mobilizing to provide immediate assistance to Haiti. On Jan. 13 it had already assembled an emergency relief team to fly to Haiti to assist Caritas members already working in the country. It said there had not yet been contact with the Haitian Caritas office.

"Caritas Internationalis humanitarian director Alistair Dutton was leading the emergency relief team, Caritas said in a statement.

" 'There is a strong Caritas presence in Haiti. We already know that Caritas staff will be providing support to survivors of the earthquake, such as food, shelter and comfort through churches and parish networks,' Dutton said...."(CNA)

"How can I help Haiti? Catholic Relief Services is an excellent way for Christians to help victims of the Haiti earthquake. We recently posted an article citing American Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Relief and Wyclef Jean Yele Haiti Foundation. Catholic Relief Services is extending a helping hand to Haiti earthquake victims. How can I help Haiti?

"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift [them] up again."

"Deuteronomy 22:4

"These are tough economic times for everyone. Think of how difficult it must be for the devasted victims of the Haiti earthquake...."

"...How can I help Haiti? Visit Catholic Relief Servicesonline to find out more or call 1-800-736-3467 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You can also send in a donation via the mail. Mail your check to: Catholic Relief Services P.O. Box 17090 Baltimore, MD 21203-7090...."(Gather News)

here's more in the post, including a video and links to news.

That verse from Deuteronomy, again in a somewhat less thee-thy-thou translation:

"You shall not see your kinsman's ass or ox foundering on the road without showing concern about it; see to it that you help him lift it up."(Deuteronomy 22:4)

This is a little off-topic, but I read a bit more of that chapter. Turns out, building codes are nothing new:

"When you build a new house, put a parapet around the roof; otherwise, if someone falls off, you will bring bloodguilt upon your house."(Deuteronomy 22:4)

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